Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright Blast Ohio State Buckeyes For Chris Holtmann Firing

Legendary former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has a major issue with the Ohio State Buckeyes firing of Chris Holtmann

The Ohio State Buckeyes fired head basketball coach Chris Holtmann earlier this month, after an abysmal run over the last two seasons.

That run included missing the postseason with a 16-19 overall record and a 5-15 mark in the Big Ten last year, with the Buckeyes seemingly on pace to do much the same this season.

And understandably, the Buckeyes decision makers, including athletic director Gene Smith had had enough. 

However, according to legendary former Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Buckeyes jumped the gun in making their decision on Holtmann.

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"After three years at Duke, I'd be fired," Coach K said in a recent episode of Basketball & Beyond on Sirius XM. "Part of building a culture is going through adversity. We were fortunate to be allowed to do that. Our schools were fortunate because we were allowed to build a culture. Our culture is still there at Duke. That's what you want to keep going."

Krzyzewski's guest on the show, former Villanova head coach Jay Wright also had a major issue with the firing of Holtmann. 

And according to Wright, had the Buckeyes elected to hold on to Holtmann, things could have been much different next season, as the team continued to develop. And instead, the next coach will get all the credit. 

"This situation with Chris Holtmann, we've got to win now," Wright said. "It's almost like everybody is a junior college coach now... They might not be patient with us. That's why I brought up Holtmann; 70 percent of Ohio State's points come from freshmen and sophomores. If those guys stay, whoever gets that job next year is going to have a hell of a team. No one is waiting on those young teams anymore. It's so different."

All that said, while the insight from Krzyzewski and Wright is eye-opening, it is also not telling the whole story, either. 

Wright had only missed a postseason once in his career with the team and was a consistent winner in the postseason. In fact, after missing that postseason, Wright rattled off 10 straight NCAA tournament appearances and two national titles. 

Krzyzewski meanwhile, while missing three post-seasons of his own, was also a a constant at the NCAA Tournament. He also won consistently in it, reaching six Final Fours and winning five national titles. 

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With the Buckeyes, Holtman made four March Madness tournaments (likely five without the COVID-19 cancellation in the 2019-2020 season).

That said, the Buckeyes' struggles were evident even in those appearances, with his teams never able to get past the round of 32. The worst case was in 2021 Holtmann's No. 2-seeded Buckeyes lost to a 15-seeded Oral Roberts 

In other words, this decision was not just about the last year and a half, or even the last three or four. 

It was about Holtmann's entire seven-year tenure with the Buckeyes, and never being able to get over the hump.